A carrier includes a pinion gear that is in meshing engagement with a ring gear. The pinion gear is driven by a driveshaft member that receives driving input from a vehicle power source such as an engine or electric motor, for example. The pinion gear is rotatably supported by pinion bearings within a pinion cage that is mounted to a carrier shell. The ring gear is mounted to a differential which provides driving output to a pair of output shafts. The differential includes a differential case comprised of flange and plain case halves that are secured together to enclose a differential gear assembly. Differential bearings support the flange and plain case halves. Side gears are in meshing engagement with the differential gears. The side gears are coupled to the output shafts.
In one known configuration, an adjusting ring is positioned near the flange case half and is used to house the flange side differential bearing and roller bearing for the associated output shaft. The adjusting ring includes a threaded portion that is adjustable to set a desired differential bearing preload. The differential bearings are preloaded to specified levels to ensure acceptable wear levels and operating life.
It is also important to provide good contact between pinion gear teeth and ring gear teeth to ensure acceptable wear levels and operating life. Traditionally, gear contact for the pinion gear is set by installing shims between the pinion cage and the carrier shell, or by placing spacers behind an inner pinion bearing cup. Both of these adjustment methods require an initial “best estimate” by an installer. If this initial best estimate does not provide an acceptable contact pattern, the installer must then disassemble the components, select different shims or spacers, and re-assemble the components. This assembly/dis-assembly method continues until the gear contact pattern is acceptable. Thus, this process is time consuming and labor intensive.